MAHARAAJ – A Film and Its Maker

Meet Nirupam Dutta. He holds a Ph.D. in Physics and spent much of his earlier years researching in Physics. Then one day, the film bug bit him hard and he ventured into a field he had absolutely no knowledge of. He produced, directed and acted in a feature film in Bengali called Maharaaj.Of course, he had made a few documentaries as a student when the madness about filmmaking hit him hard. But, not satisfied with shorts and docus, he ventured into his full-length feature film under his banner Musafir Stories. Maharaaj took eight long years in the making, and his loyal team struggled with him to bring the film to fruiton. Finally, Maharaaj was released in Kolkata theatres last week and Dutta along with his team let out a sign of relief. He is now struggling to keep the film running in the theatres where it is being screened.

“The film is based on a true story and later I tried to set it like a true fiction. I wanted to hide it (purposefully) by not giving any disclaimer. Maharaaj portrays the complexities of time and relationships that unfold on screen in this surrealistic story. It is about a young, upward aspiring couple, both of who are working fulltime and find little time to share, either their experiences in the work field or their time shared together” says Nirupam. The film portrays their journey through life and how they fail to cope with the demands of home-making and the heavy division of housework between them. They define a microcosm of any young working couple of a metro city who are upwardly mobile, post-modern in thought and habit but find it tough to meet the challenges of day-to-day life.” Then comes Maharaaj as the magic cook-chef-cum-all-errands man who solves their problems at one go and then, just as suddenly as he arrived, he disappears into nothingness. As if he never existed.He even plays the guitar much to the surprise of the young couple.

The acting cast spills over with debut performances who do seem awkward at places but manage to pull the film through from beginning to end. The actors are -

Souryadipta Mukherjee and Amrita Gagan Chakraborty as the young couple, with direction by Nirupam Datta himself who also plays the title role. 

When asked if the story was entirely an illusion as the film appears to be experimental and not quite conventionally narrative-centric, Dutta says, “if anyone takes a specific stand, he or she can carry it without a dilemma but will be left with few questions at the end. The same will happen to others who will take the opposite stand. They will also be left with few questions and the questions or their inherent dilemma will unify these two different stand points. This duality actually exists which I believe as a physicist  in the realm of fundamental existence of matter and as a common man  in our perceived social life.”

He goes on to add, “If it is an illusion, the question is - from which point does the illusion begin. It can again be perceived in different ways. It can be thought to be starting from the first frame itself or from the point of Maharaaj's entry or from the point of the night of the climax scene when Nandini wakes up and meets Maharaaj for the last time. The scenes have some clues. But if it is not an illusion then it only can be a hallucination of the last and final night and rest are facts.”

When asked whether the young wife, who is open enough to smoke and drink and act as she wishes to, finds a strange connection with Maharaaj, her husband is a bit scared, Nirupam says, “Yes.The husband goes through a kind of inferiority complex. He does not want be advised by someone he considers his servant. For him, Maharaaj is nothing more than an employee. He is Nandini’s husband, and he is also the master of the family.  So, he plays a trick and sacks Maharaaj from service.”

I   did not understand the statement about the "stone". Is the stone a metaphor for Maharaaj as he leaves the stone behind when he leaves as if he is leaving a bit of himself behind? His response to my question is, “The stone is purely metaphoric. It signifies the earth first. The earth and the celestial stone have no difference as both are hanging onto this vast cosmos and both of them perhaps feel they are not happy anymore. Maharaaj finally has to rescue of the stone or perhaps the earth to take it back to its own cosmos of conscience. The stone also signifies Maharaaj himself like a comet. The earth, the stone, maharaaj are reflections of the same concept of a different world of truth . Maharaaj leaves it behind but when Nandini comes back home the stone is still there on the table but when she was trying to hide it from her husband, the stone had disappeared already. This is the reflection of truth. If it is in front of everyone, it is there but an attempt to hide makes it disappear. Nandini did not find anything connected to Maharaaj  to hide from her husband. This is a fallacy of the perceived truth in our life. Is it not?”

Maharaaj, the film is extremely experimental and is ambivalent in terms of narrative, plot, characterization, music and ambience. At one time, the audience will feel that the director takes us on a journey into a surreal world that exists only in the imagination while the situations sometimes shake you off your reverie and bring you back into the real world where everything seems as real as you are. The premise is challenging. But the storyline is weak and the execution calls for more experience and maturity in filmmaking. Every actor must be fully convinced about the film he is acting in and the character he is portraying. This appears to be doubtful in the actors who play the young couple in the film. But it is quite a courageous and challenging attempt for a first film.

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